Biodiversity
Hard Rock Case Study

Llynclys Quarry, nr Oswestry, Shropshire
Lafarge Aggregates Ltd

Llynclys Quarry is sited next to the village of the same name, approximately 6.4km south of Oswestry in Shropshire.

This operational quarry covers a total area of 65 hectares and 9.4 hectares of the total area have been restored.

In past years the quarry consisted of limekilns with a rail link while the current quarry has been reduced in operating area and a new office and one way traffic system have replaced the historic sprawl of operations.

High quality limestone has been extracted here for some 150 years and a Technical Working Group is responsible for continuously monitoring the site and implementing a long term plan of aftercare for the restored land, and subsequently the whole quarry, when final restoration is completed.

The quarrying restoration has been developed over many years to reflect the experiences gained by observation of the speed with which nature regenerates on previously worked areas.

Lafarge Aggregates worked closely with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust throughout the restoration process.

Monitoring of the quarry slopes by the Trust has proved that the seedbank in the soil has been quick to regenerate with flora such as Primrose, Cowslip, Viper's-bugloss, Bird's-foot-trefoil and herbs such as Wild Thyme and Marjoram.

Four species of orchids and twelve species of butterfly, including the Green Hairstreak and Grizzled Skipper, were recorded in a 1996 ecological survey.

Access to the site is proved to the local community, schoolchildren and visiting academics by appointment, and an annual open day is held, which attracts hundreds of visitors.